Pursuing the Heart
by Qwerty616120
Summary: It was her fault, really. She'd written the words. Now they knew she was Bad Wolf. Her only hope was that the Doctor found her before They did; if not, she was as good as dead. (Doctor/Rose, T for violence) (Can be read after the prequel "Through Our Letters", or can be read on its own)
1. Chapter 1: Lighting the Fire

"_Where there's smoke, there's fire." _

**Chapter 1: Lighting the Fire**

* * *

They say a man who's never known strength or power appreciates it all the more in the end, and no one knew the saying to be true like Rose Tyler did. Once, she'd been a common shop girl living in London (a London similar to the one she lived in now, and yet so different). And now-

"Good morning, Agent Tyler. You requested the case file on the Dalek Empire?"

-now Rose Tyler was a top ranked field agent working for a secret government agency dubbed "Torchwood". Oh, how the tables had turned. Although the agent was not infallible (far from it, in fact- just ask anyone about the disastrous incident with the aliens from Galaxy K-6), she was widely recognized as the most experienced and the go-to agent for all the newbies. No one was more stunned by her new respect and authority than Rose Tyler herself.

"Yeah, that would be me," Rose smiled, accepting the file. "Thanks, Brooke."

"No problem, Miss Tyler," the secretary replied, somewhat uncomfortably. A new employee who had yet to lose her formal training and manners, Rose was determined to befriend the young lady and make her come out of her shell. So far, she'd had little luck.

"Ah! Miss Tyler!"

"Sir?" Rose asked, turning to face the newcomer walking quickly down the hallway towards her. A short, stalky man with a bald head and thick, busy eyebrows, it almost looked as if all the hair on his head had migrated down to the space above his eyes.

"Any luck on Artifact 0936?"

"Artifact 0936…" Rose echoed, trying not to look flustered in front of her supervisor. (So maybe the blonde had never quite gotten the hang of the numbering system at Torchwood. Mr. Samuels didn't need to know that.)

Pulling down her shirt sleeve slightly, Rose squinted at the messy pen writing on her wrist- her personal cheat sheet.

_0933- Spacecraft from Mars _

_ 0934- Scrolls from Galaxy J-12 _

_ 0935- Slitheen Skin sampling _

_ 0936- Responsive Letter Receiver _

_ 0937- Rover from Barcelona _

Right. So Artifact 0936 was the letter- of course.

"Very little, sir," Rose answered, relieved she'd had the foresight to copy down her assignments.

"Very little, or none at all?"

"Very little," Rose repeated firmly. "I can show you my notes, if you want. Sir." That was yet another thing Rose sometimes struggled with- addressing authority properly. That had never been a strength of hers, to the exasperation of both her parents. If her father hadn't been so- well, wealthy- she was sure she'd have been fired for insubornation her first week at the agency. As it was, she'd since earned her weight in gold at Torchwood... mostly.

Mr. Samuels inclined his head slightly in agreement, and Rose turned on her heels, walking quickly down one of the many hallways to her office. She hoped her boss wouldn't notice the way her sneakers made a dull _thud_ on the shiny wooden floors that contrasted sharply with the _click-click _of other woman's high heels, or the way her hair was in a messy ponytail and not a tight bun.

At the end of the hallway, a dark wood door held a plaque that read "Agent Rose Tyler" on it. She'd left the lights on- again- and an elongated triangle extending across the floor from the base of the door gave her away. Behind her, Mr. Samuels gave a disapproving grunt, but he didn't say anything.

"Right this way, sir," Rose said, opening her door all the way and ushering her boss inside. She had two chairs seated across her desk for visitors, but to Rose's relief he didn't sit down. He must've not been planning to stay very long.

Walking around to the other side of her desk, Rose dropped the Dalek file on top of all the other messily stacked vanilla folders. Sitting down, she opened one of the drawers in her desk and started rummaging around for Artifact 0936.

"The Dalek Empire, Miss Tyler? Again?"

Sparing a glance at her bald boss, Rose saw he'd picked up the file and was looking at it with a bored, removed sort of distaste.

"I know you think studying them is a waste of time, Mr. Samuels," the agent said tightly, returning to her search. She was tired of this worn and pointless conversation- they'd had it far too many times before, in the Tyler woman's opinion. "But where I come from, they caused a lot of trouble. Trust me when I saw they're worth keeping an eye out for." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "Sir."

"Yes, I know. The destructive Daleks," Mr. Samuels sighed, tossing the file back on the agent's desk. "Seems strange we have yet to see hind or tail of them, yes, Miss Tyler?"

"Yes, sir," Rose retorted tightly. She wouldn't risk her job by arguing with her employer. No matter how much of an irritating a-

"Agent Tyler, are you completely incapable of locating the Artifact?" Her boss prompted in his best _'I'm so not impressed'_ voice. Opting not to retort verbally, the blonde settled for grabbing the letter and pulling it out smugly.

Artifact 0936 was surprisingly ordinary looking for all the fuss it had kicked up. In appearance, it was nothing more than a blank piece of thick, creamy-colored paper, like the stationary used for fancy letters. It was hard to tell how old it was, or what planet it might have come from, because the paper stubbornly refused to collect dirt, dust, any sort of ink residue, or show any age at all.

That wasn't what had earned the parchment's fame, though. No, the Artifact's true mystery lay in how responsive it was. Write on the paper, and the ink would puddle together and reform into new words. Best as they could figure, it was like IM-ing, or texting. Someone, somewhere, was somehow responding. The real question was who.

It was a question Rose had been assigned to answer.

"Very well, Miss Tyler. What've you learned?" Mr. Samuels prompted, still not sitting down.

Rose swallowed thickly. Many of her "results" were less than honest; the trick would be seeming like she'd done a lot of work without telling him what she'd actually discovered.

"Well, sir, these are my notes-" she broke off to hand him a paper she'd filled up with a mix of half-truths and lies- "I'm thinkin' male, fairly caught up ta our own time period, possibly-"

"Agent Tyler," the short man cut in, banishing the paper like a weapon. "This says 'undetermined' next to Identity. Do you mean to tell me you still don't know?"

"Yes. Sir." The agent was lying through her teeth, and for a moment her boss's eyes narrowed beneath his bushy brows, and Rose was sure she'd been caught. Then the moment passed, and Mr. Samuels handed her back the notes with dissatisfaction.

"I expected more of you, Miss Tyler," He ground out. "You have two more weeks; if you still can't tell me this man's identity by the end of that time, I'm transferring Artifact 0936 to another agent. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Rose all but growled, furious. "Sir."

"Good," the man said with a self-satisfied nod, before turning on his heels and walking out of the room. Just before the door could close behind him, he stuck his head back in the room. "And Miss Tyler? Those sneakers are not protocol uniform for the office. I expect uniform attire tomorrow." Then the door clicked shut and he was gone.

It made Rose all the more pleased in an angry kind of way that she'd lied to him. She didn't need two weeks; the man's Identity was crystal clear. Ever since she'd written him, asking him for an alias, she'd known who he was. How many people would have responded with John Smith? After that, all the pieces just came together- he was single, travelled a lot, talked like he was from the twentieth or twenty-first century, and had met all sort of aliens. He'd been separated from a dear friend and couldn't get back to her- a story that was oh-so-similar to a certain Rose Tyler's.

As of last night, Rose had known she was talking to her Doctor. And she was fairly certain he knew who he was talking to, also. After she'd asked for his alias, he'd asked for hers. She'd responded with _Bad Wolf, _and hadn't heard from him since. His silence didn't bother her- the paper only worked if both writers were at their papers at the same time, so it was entirely possible he'd gotten distracted by some life-threatening development, knowing the life he led.

_Hello? _She wrote now, hoping the paper would respond. No luck- the Doctor wasn't at his paper. When he got back, he'd see the message, like a voice mail on a cell phone. Sighing, Rose let the paper fall on top on her messy desk, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes wearily. It had been a long day. Below her desk, she kicked off her sneakers and wiggled her toes gratefully- no point keeping her shoes on, everyone else would be going home soon anyway. She would be staying late to catch up on paperwork. Again.

With her eyes still closed, Rose heard the wooden floor creak outside her door.

_Oh no, _Rose groaned mentally. It had to be Mr. Samuels, coming back to lecture her on some minor, insignificant detail she'd messed up on. ("Miss Tyler, you didn't put the date on this report!" or maybe, "Agent Tyler, you misspelled Slitheen again!")

"Come on in, Mr. Samuels," the agent called, opening her eyes grudgingly. Outside, the creaks stopped abruptly, and Rose could imagine the fat little man stopping short in surprise. _What was he tryin' to do? Sneak up on me an' catch me in the act of being shoeless? _

"Mr. Samuels, I know you're out there. Come one in, sir," she tried again, when no one entered her office. She watched as the door handle slowly turned, and it was then that the agent realized something wasn't quite right. Mr. Samuels never entered a room slowly- he always barged in like he owned the place. Reaching under her desk, Rose pulled out her pistol, keeping it hidden behind her desk just in case it really was her annoying boss.

The door opened suddenly, pushed in by a limp form that promptly collapsed to the floor. Jumping up, Rose pushed her chair out of the way and ran around her desk, gun raised and ready. What she saw on the floor made her blood run cold.

It was a man, his body paper white and his blue lips open in a silent scream. His eyes were wide and glassy, staring at nothing- Mr. Samuels, dead. Rose peeled her eyes from the horrible corpse and looked down the hallway- or, she tried to. The passage was dark, even though Rose could've sworn the lights had been on only moments before. Out in the hallway, the floor creaked again as Mr. Samuel's killer moved steadily toward her, the darkness hiding him from view. Trying to school her terror, Rose aimed her gun down the dark hall, her hand steady even as fear pounded inside her like the waves on an ocean shore.

"Show yourself," she ordered, her voice as steady as her hands, betraying nothing of the rolling emotions inside.

Something moved in the corner of her eye, and she saw the Doctor had written back.

_We need to talk. _

"Little busy right now, Doctor," Rose mumbled through her teeth. In the dark hallway, the thing paused, almost as if it had heard her. Then it rushed toward her office, faster, as if excited. Rose panicked and fired blindly into the darkness; nothing happened. Then she saw it.

It was a man, but his skin was white with purple veins bulging under his skin like a spider's web. His eyes were completely black, like the eyes of an animal, and his mouth was a thin, bloodless line the opened to reveal sharp, shark-like teeth. Where fingers should have been, long claws extended from his white palms. His chest was bare, and long crisscrossing scars stared openly at the terrified agent.

"Who are you?" Rose demanded, still pointing the gun at the creature.

"_My name is Mortici._" The figure's mouth never moved, but his hissing voice echoed around Rose's office as clear as day. Then his thin, bloodless mouth curved upward in an eerie smile. _"I've searched long and far for you, Bad Wolf. Thank you for making my search so easy." _

"My name is Rose Tyler, not Bad Wolf," Rose lied, struggling now to hid her terror. "Listen, Mortici, I don't want to fight you. Do you need help? If you're relocating to a new planet, I know h-"

She trailed off as Mortici broke into a uncontrolled, barking laugh that reminded Rose of a rabid animal.

"_They were right about you," _the figure hissed, his dark eyes narrowing in a sudden mood shift. _"The Valiant Child, isn't that right? Naïve even in the face of your capture. Such plans I have for you- such plans." _

"Capture? You can try," Rose snarled, firing her gun. She didn't know how he knew about her Valiant Child title, but she had a sinking suspicion she knew how he found out she was the Bad Wolf. He was right; she might as well have told him. She'd written it on that stupid letter- that was all he'd needed. How he'd seen her, it didn't matter. He was here now.

The bullet zipped through the air, dead on target, but Mortici simply slunk around it with a superhuman speed and grace. He was like a shadow, sliding toward her quickly, claws flashing, with deadly precision. Backing up quickly, something hard rammed into the back of the agent's legs. Her desk. Cursing under her breath, Rose fired again, adrenaline made her mind go blank. Once again, the bullet was dodged.

Behind her, something crinkled.

The paper. _No… maybe? _

Before her, Mortici slunk closer still, his feet making a soft scratching sound on the wooden floor. In desperation, Rose fired again- nothing. She was out of bullets. In a last ditch attempt, Rose hurtled the weapon at him and spun around, grabbing the paper and pen.

_HELP ATTACK MOR- _

That was all she got out before a cold clawed hand closed in around her neck and her world went dark.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this is quite a bit darker than what I usually write, but I don't think it needs an "M" rating… right? Is "T" strong enough? This isn't any scarier than, like, the Silence or anything, so I don't think it's too out there. I don't think it'll get any darker than this, but if it does the rating will go up. I don't think that'll be necessary, but you never know. **

**Anywho, here's Chapter 1 :) Review, tell me what you think, please! Love ya'll- until next time! **

**-Qwerty**


	2. Chapter 2: Gut Instincts

"_Always trust your first gut instincts. If you genuinely feel in your heart and soul _

_that something is wrong, it usually is." –Unknown_

**Chapter 2: Gut Instincts**

* * *

The Doctor hadn't meant to get sidetracked. He honestly hadn't, cross his hearts and hope to die (or whatever that silly earth saying was). But Amy had come out, screeching about how they'd accidentally left Rory in sixteenth century Klon, and despite the Doctor's protests ("He'll be fine for one night, I'm sure!") she'd insisted they go back and get him.

And _then _of course Rory had been upset and offended that they'd left him, and they'd had to sort that out, and then he and Amy got arrested for "indecent conduct" because the Doctor may have forgotten to mention that kissing in public was a capital offense on Klon. In short, it had been one huge mess.

Eventually, however, everything was sorted and everyone was back on the TARDIS- he knew, he'd counted to make sure. ("One, two, three, four, all here, Geronimo- no, wait, I don't know you, get off my TARDIS- and off we go!") Amy and Rory were decently pacified again, they were safe in the vortex, and the Doctor could not have been more frustrated.

_Honestly, _were they just going to sit around the console room all night? Plopping down on a seat, the Time Lord tried not to look impatient as he waited for his loitering companions to drift off to their room. His eyes skipped over to a loose spot in the grating where he'd hidden _it. _

"It" being, more specifically, the letter he'd found in a 74th Century spacecraft that responded when he wrote on it. Until recently, he'd had no idea who the person he'd been writing to was, and he'd had to try to piece the puzzle together in the quiet hours while Amy and Rory slept because Amy had warned him that under no circumstance was he to write to a potential enemy across time and space. (Something about "stranger danger", pfft. All this coming from the girl who'd gone traveling with an almost-stranger.) But then she'd presented her alias as Bad Wolf and all that had changed.

"Doctor, what is it?" Amy asked matter-of-factly, startling the Doctor from his thoughts.

"What's what?"

Amy exchanged an exasperated look with Rory, who still stubbornly refused to look at the Time Lord.

"You're being shifty," she said finally, raising one eyebrow. "Spill."

"I'm not being shifty," he retorted indignantly, jumping to his feet. "Not me, nope-a-mundo… okay, maybe not that one-"

"Doctor," the Scottish woman interrupted, hands on her hips. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I'm not not telling you anything! And even if I weren't, which I am, I wouldn't be acting 'shifty'. But in the case that I wasn't not not telling you-"

"Right," Rory interrupted, still not looking at the alien. "Let's go to bed, Amy, you're not gonna get anything outta him right now." The Pond man stood up and walked over to the hallway, waiting for his wife to follow him. The Time Lord, on the other hand, cringed, waiting for Amy to stubbornly object…

….and was stunned when the red haired companion agreed.

"Fine," she conceded, shooting the Doctor her best 'this isn't over' deluxe glare. "But don't think that's the end of this, Doctor." Then she joined Rory and both disappeared down one of the TARDIS's hallways.

He stood there in a stunned silence for almost a full minute, and then he was on the move. Kneeling to the floor, he moved the loose grating and pulled out the thick stationary. Grabbing his pen, he sat back down on his chair.

Could she be _her_? Rose Tyler, separated from him all those years ago? _Bad Wolf_… how many people would know to go by that? He almost was afraid to hope that he'd found a link to her- no, he needed to be sure.

Looking at the page, he saw she'd already written to him.

_Hello? _

_We need to talk, _he wrote back, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. How would he know for sure? Sure, the woman had Rose's handwriting, attitude, and alias, but how could he _know_?

"AHA!" Cried a familiar voice, and the Doctor jumped, scrambling to his feet and spinning around with the letter behind his back. Walking back into the room, Amy looked at him triumphantly, arms crossed over her chest. "I knew you were hiding something!"

"Hiding something? I'm not hiding anything," the other time traveler spluttered, the paper crinkling in his hands.

"Then what's behind your back?" Amy challenged, knowing full well she had him cornered.

"Behind my back?" He asked weakly, jerking back when Amy made a wild lunge for him.

"Hey!" He cried, skittering away and around to the other side of the console. "Don't you think you're taking this too far?"

"Too far?" Amy cried, chasing him, only to have him dart away again. "Too far is staying up at night and keeping secrets. Don't think I haven't noticed, Doctor!"

"But chasing me in my own ship is ridiculous!" The alien cried, struggling to stay away from Amy and keep the letter hidden at the same time.

"Then stop runnin'!" Amy dared, her accent getting thicker the way it did when she got worked up.

"No!" He cried, jumping over his seat to escape her. "That'd be really stupid!"

"Right now you're being really stupid!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am _not!_"

"Are _too!_"

That was when the Doctor stumbled. Off balance, he crashed into the side of the console and the letter went flying. Landing a few feet away on the floor, he crawled to his feet and dove for it.

Amy was just a split second quicker, scooping up the article and darting away before the Time Lord could get back on his feet.

"This? _This?_ You said you wouldn't use it!" Amy scolded, waving the letter in one hand and scowling at him.

"I exaggerated!" The Doctor cried, lunging for the letter. "Now give it back!"

"You _exaggerated?_" Amy echoed, furious. "I don't think so, Doctor! This thing could be dangerous!"

"It's a piece of paper!"

"And it could still be dangerous!" She shot back, on the opposite side of the console now. Every move the Doctor made, Amy reflected, so that it was almost impossible for the Time Lord to regain his property.

"Give it back, Amy!"

"No! You don't need this thing!" Moving her hands to the top of the page, Amy put a hand on either corner, as if to tear it in half.

"Don't you _dare_."

"Will you stop using it?" The red head challenged, eyebrows raised. At the Doctor's expression she gave a nod. "That's what I thought. This thing has to go, Doctor. Your curiosity could get you killed!"

"Amy, I'm warning you!"

Her hands didn't waver. On the page, the ink puddled together and rearranged into new words. Rose- or whoever it was- was writing back. And one of the words looked suspiciously like a "help". Amy didn't notice, but the Doctor did. His hearts froze.

"Say bye, Doctor," Amy said, but her hands didn't move. The Doctor narrowed his eyes.

_ "_You're bluffing," he challenged.

"Am not."

"Yes, you are," the Time Lord declared.

"Okay, fine!" Amy conceded, frustrated. "I won't tear it." Then she caught the relieved look in his eyes and frowned, confused.

"Why is this so important to you?" She asked suddenly, letting her hands drop to her sides, the paper clenched in her right hand tightly.

"I think I know who might be writing to me," he said, green eyes meeting green.

"Who?"

"A- a friend," he said thickly, looking like he wasn't sure how to explain. "She traveled with me, a while back."

"How do you know for sure that it's her?"

"I don't," the alien admitted, his eyes still on Amy's. "But if there's even a chance that it is, I have to take it.

"Why did she leave?" Amy asked quietly. The Doctor closed his eyes and swallowed before answering.

"She was trapped," he said quietly. "I haven't seen or heard from her since. It- well before now, it was impossible."

"And if it isn't her?" The Time Lord's eyes darkened dangerously at the question- a revengeful, angry side of the Doctor that Amy rarely saw.

"Then they'll regret using her name."

"Sounds like she was more than a friend," Amy muttered, but she surrendered the paper without any more objections.

"Thank you," the Doctor said, taking it from her gratefully. Looking down at it, his eyes scanned the paper quickly, reading whatever was written there. His face paled.

"What? What is it?" Amy asked, hurrying to his side. The note scrawled on the paper made her freeze.

_HELP ATTACK MOR- _

As they watched, new words appeared underneath it in, neat, slanted cursive that angled sharply to the right.

_Hello, Doctor. Remember me? I assume since you stood me up you've forgotten, but one never knows. You're such a hard man to find. I expect you to finally make good on your promise and meet me in the Maze of Ills. Just so you don't get cold feet again, I believe I've got something of yours- or rather, someone. I'd come quickly. You and I both know humans never last long down there- I wonder how long it will take for her to break? _

Before the Doctor could so much as write one letter back, the page erupted into flames. With a yell, the Time Lord dropped the flaming parchment, stomping out the fire on the metal grating before it could damage the TARDIS.

"No, no, no, no!" Yelled the Doctor, tugging at his hair with both hands in frustration.

"What happened?" Amy cried, staring at the small pile of ash.

"He lit the other page on fire," the Doctor growled. "He's severed the link."

"_Who_ did?"

"Mortici," the Time Lord spat. Amy could only stare for a moment; it was rare for the alien to show so much disdain for anyone, even an enemy. Somehow, she got the feeling their feud stretched back far longer than a she'd been around, and ran much deeper than a kidnapped companion.

"Great, okay," she said, "And who's that, exactly?"

"He's a _tempus edax__, _one of the few left. Their kind live in the Maze of Ills, a space kind of in-between dimensions and universes. It's like the void, dead space and all that, only inhabited," at this he paused. "Well, I lie. Inhabited is a very loose term for creatures like tempus edaxes, but you know what I mean."

"Right," Amy nodded. "So why can't we just pop into the Maze of Ills and grab 'er?"

"Weren't you listening?" He asked, hurrying around the console in a button-pushing lever-pulling frenzy. "The Maze of Ills is composed of _dead space. _It would kill the TARDIS to go in there. She could hover on the edge, maybe, but we'd be on foot from there."

"And that's a bad thing," Amy guessed, not really asking but knowing.

"Very bad," the Doctor agreed. "Not only is it inhabited by tempus edaxes like Mortici, but it's named the Maze of Ills for a reason. It's not advisable for a Time Lord to go there, never mind humans. Being it dead space like that literally makes you sick. Stay too long and you're dead."

"So about how long would we have?" Amy asked, pulling a lever that the Doctor gestured to.

"Us? Oh, easily long enough to retrieve one person," the alien dismissed. "A month, maybe? It's Rose I'm worried about."

"Rose? Is that her name?" The Doctor ignored the question and kept talking.

"If Mortici has her, then he's touched her. One touch from a tempus edax, and the process speeds up drastically. She has three, maybe four days at best. That's four days- best case scenario- to find one human in a maze that's hundreds of miles long."

"So it's almost impossible," Amy summed up.

"Pretty much," the Time Lord agreed, focused on the circular writing on one of the TARDIS's screens. "Good thing impossible is what we do best."

"And what if it's not her?" Amy asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What if it is?" He countered, not missing a beat. "Besides, it's just this feeling I've got. Something's not right."

"Okay, then," Amy conceded. "Four days in an environment that could kill us with terrible enemies lurking around every corner to save one human girl who's dying fast."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, wincing slightly at the last part. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Fat chance, raggedy man," Amy laughed. "I'm not leaving some poor girl to die that way if I can help it."

"What if it's not her?" The Doctor tested, echoing his companion.

"What if it is?" She echoed back. The Doctor's face split into a grin.

"Amy Pond, I know there was a reason I kept you around," he declared, proud. "Go tell Rory to shake a leg. We've got a human to find. Geronimo!"

* * *

**A/N: And that's Chapter 2! I'm sorry for the wait, but now that exams are over and school is out, updates should be quicker. :) Hope ya'll are enjoying the story so far- drop me a review and let me know what you think. Until next time! **

**-Qwerty **


	3. Chapter 3: Overcoming Conquest

"_He that is taken and put into prison or chains is not conquered, though overcome; for he is still an enemy." - Thomas Hobbes_

**Chapter 3: Overcoming Conquest **

* * *

"Mmph," mumbled Rose, shifting slightly. Oh, she was stiff. _What happened? _ She wondered, trying to think through the horrible pounding in her head. She'd almost think she had a hangover, except it'd been a long time since she'd touched a bottle and she could recollect no memory of going to a party or bar. No, the last thing she remembered was being in her office, and Mr. Samuels had-

_Mr. Samuels! _Rose's eyes flew open as it all came back at once; the death of her boss, Mortici. The sight that greeted her was not a pretty one. She was in some sort of cement cell, with a thick metal door instead of bars. The air was moist and thick, and the faint drip of a leak could be heard. Light seeped in from under the door, illuminating little in the otherwise total darkness. In said total darkness, it was hard to tell what state her body was in, but she could figure some things out easily enough.

Her arms ached, and she realized they were suspended, chained and hung above her head by some sort of metal. Her wrists and shoulders sang with pain from supporting the full weight of her limp body, and she braced her legs, standing up fully to try to alleviate some of the pressure. Her wrists felt sticky against the hard metal, and the scent of iron hung in the air- with a sickening jolt, Rose realized it was blood.

She was stopped from any further analyses by a now familiar sound- the faint scratch of footsteps, multiplied several times. The door suddenly swung open, and Rose reeled back, her back pressed against the hard cement and her eyes squinted shut against the sudden, blinding light. Three figures swept inside, slamming the door shut behind them. One carried a lantern, an old looking relic that cast a shadowy light on Rose's surroundings.

The lantern's soft, flickering light was much easier for the agent's eyes to adjust to, and she opened them all the way, taking in the newcomers. One she recognized immediately as Mortici, but the other two she didn't know. They both resembled Mortici, with black eyes and veiny, translucent skin stretched thinly over their angular bodies, but both had some small differences. The one to Mortici's right had fewer teeth, as far as Rose could tell, and was hunched over. The creature's long claws were dull and filed down, giving the Torchwood agent the impression that it was something of an elder. The one to Mortici's left was slimmer than its companions, with a smooth grace that escaped Mortici and the elder. Something told Rose this one was female.

"So this is Bad Wolf," said the female, her hissing voice lighter and more clipped than Mortici's. "Not very impressive, is she?"

"Silence, Akila," ordered Mortici, his own voice chalked full of authority in a way that almost reminded Rose of Mr. Samuels. "Dylon, examine her." The elder moved forward obediently, his almost non-existent claws skimming over Rose's face quickly and quietly. The blonde human shivered, the contact making her feel like she'd been dumped in ice water. Then Dylon retreated, leaving the woman shaking as she tried to catch her breath.

"Your touch was not good for her, Mortici," Dylon said in a tone that almost implied rebuke. "But she is a strong specimen. If he hurries, and if she is not touched again or too physically strained, she will last."

"He will hurry," Mortici hissed with confidence. Dylon and Akila exchanged a look, evidently more doubtful.

"How do you know?" Akila asked, her voice calm and cool. Like Mortici, her mouth didn't move when she spoke.

"Because I know him," Mortici said, just as coolly and evenly. "I have seen the importance, the impact of Bad Wolf in his life. He will not leave her to die, no matter what the personal cost."

"Are you certain? Time has passed since their last meeting and-"

"Silence, Akila!" Mortici snapped, his patience evidentially running thin. "Dylon, finish your examination. Then join us in the Hall. We have much to discuss."

The door opened and shut, and then it was just Dylon and Rose, alone. Rose kept hearing one phrase; _he will not leave her to die, no matter what the personal cost. _For now, she was bait. But they wanted her in decent health, so the plan must've not stopped there. Something else was going on, something she was still missing.

In the dim lighting, Rose saw Dylon move his blunt claws forward, as if to touch her again.

"Wait!" The agent spluttered, dreading the icy feeling she knew would accompany his touch. "You said I wasn't supposed to be touched again, remember?"

"By Mortici, perhaps," Dylon said dryly, his dark, pupil-less eyes drilling into Rose's. "My touch will not affect you."

"An' why not?" Rose challenged, almost daring him to explain himself.

"Because I am bred to be a physician," the alien explained flatly. "I am not the same as others of my kind."

"How?"

"Why should I enlighten you, human?"

"Maybe I can help you," Rose suggested, gulping. It was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe, it would work.

"I require no assistance from you."

"Everyone needs help with something," the blonde shot back, trying to ignore the tingling feeling in her hands as they went numb. Across from her, Dylon blinked slowly, thin, translucent eyelids sliding over his dark eyes. It was the first sign of emotion Rose had seen from any of the eerie creatures. Encouraged, she plunged ahead. "Let me help you."

"Help me," Dylon echoed. "You cannot even help yourself, earthling."

"Get me out of here, and I'll help solve your problem," Rose promised, almost begging.

"Bold vow, human," Dylon warned. "What if the solution required your life? Or the life of a loved one?"

"Does it?"

Dylon hesitated. Then: "No."

"Then help me help you," the blonde begged.

"You cannot help me," the creature spat, getting agitated. "You cannot make him help me." Rose froze, mind spinning. _Him? _

"What do you need, Dylon?" She asked evenly, looking right into his spiritless eyes and trying not to shiver.

"Assurance," he admitted eventually. "Assurance that I can die where I came from."

"And where is that?"

"Silence, human," Dylon snapped, suddenly on edge, his brief moment of discontent hidden. Rose was not so easily deterred.

"Help me escape, and I'll help you get back to your homeland," Rose insisted earnestly.

"Mortici can do that for me," Dylon hissed, leaning closer to the Torchwood agent so that she was face-to-face with the dark creature.

"Then why hasn't he already?" Rose challenged.

"He needs me now," the physician retorted.

"And he won't later? You think he'd let you go?" Rose asked, voice low. "Do you honestly think Mortici is the kind to keep his promises?"

"Once he has the Doctor, he will not need me," Dylon insisted. "He has nothing to gain by breaking his promise."

"The Doctor," Rose echoed, a protective kind of fury rising up in her. She'd suspected she was bait to lure him in, but hoped she was wrong. Obviously not. "If you hoped he'd come for me, you're fools. Every one of yah! He's in a different universe. He can't reach me."

Now it was Dylon's turn to look smug. "But you aren't in any universe. You're in the Maze of Ills, Bad Wolf. He can come here." Rose took a deep breath, trying to hide her shock, and plunged ahead like that wasn't news to her.

"And you think I'd let him come here? I w_ill _escape. Help me, and I'll return the favor. Leave me to escape myself, and you'll lose your chance." Rose was bluffing, of course, but he didn't need to know that.

"Lose my chance," Dylon echoed, dark eyes boring into Rose's as he thought. "I know to take a chance when I see one. But for now, chances are not for me. I am a physician. Talk to me of chances when I am simply Dylon, and no more." Rose took a deep breath and nodded. That sounded like a maybe to her, and she knew she needed the alien's help.

"Okay," she agreed. This time, she didn't say anything when Dylon touched his filed claws to her temples. Once again, she got the feeling not unlike freezing, but didn't say anything. He was a physician, and she needed him to trust her. Thus, she had to trust him.

_I hope I'm not making a huge mistake. _

* * *

Rose awoke to the clink of keys. Blinking her eyes open, she struggled to see in the darkness, barely making out the dark, hunched shape holding the keys.

"Dylon?" The blond mumbled groggily, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. The shape froze, and then relaxed when he realized the voice belonged to Rose.

"Be quite," Dylon hissed under his breath, inserting one of the keys into the lock on the captive's shackles.

"You decided ta take me up on my offer?" Rose whispered, hope bubbling up inside her.

"I decided to take my own chances," Dylon retorted tightly. "So yes, I suppose that means I am."

"Thank God," Rose breathed as the alien freed her hands. The respite she felt when her arms dropped to her sides was immeasurable- the relief in her stiff shoulders and bleeding wrists almost blocked out everything else. "Oh, that feels good," Rose murmured, rubbing her raw wrists with her hands. Pins and needles prickled up her arms from having them above her head for so long, but she ignored it.

"This way," Dylon ordered, his feet scratching softly against the cement floor as he hurried to the cell door and slipped out. Rose followed, hot on his heels, and was relieved to see the hallway was only dimly lit and not filled with the blinding light it had been earlier.

_ This mus' be like their nighttime, _Rose mused as she followed Dylon silently through the long, twisting hallways. For an old guy, Dylon moved pretty fast. Soon, they reached a set of double doors, made of the same metal as Rose's cell door. Dylon hesitated only a split second before opening them and slipping out. Rose followed, only to freeze. She was in total darkness.

"Here," Dylon whispered, handing her an unlit lantern and what felt like a box of matches in the dark. "Light this when you get far enough away. I have to return, but we will meet again. Don't forget your promise!"

"I won't," Rose vowed. "Thank you, Dylon." The alien didn't respond; he was already gone. Rose was alone. Taking a deep breath, the agent started walking.

Alone and unarmed, Rose Tyler disappeared into the Maze of Ills.

* * *

**A/N: Phew. Wow. Okay, so now we know what's going on with Rose :) Next chapter we'll be back with the Doctor. By the way, I forgot to mention- this story ignores both Ten2 and River. Not because I dislike them, or anything like that, but because this story is supposed to be no longer than 5 to 10 chapters and it's not really written to address either of them. I may write a story with them one day, but it's not gonna be this one. That being said, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this chapter. :) Trust Dylon? Don't? Think you know Mortici's plan? Leave me a review, share your thoughts! Until next time! :) **

**-Qwerty **


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